Tape cassettes having indications for blind use

ABSTRACT

A tape cassette is provided with a recess or projection indicative of the front or rear side of the cassette, the playing time of the tape contained, the running speed of the tape or the like, which recess or projection is disposed along the peripheral edge of a window formed in a label applied to either surface or to both surfaces of the cassette and which can be utilized for tactile determination of the front or rear side of the cassette, the kind of the tape contained or the like by the blind.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cassettes for use in tape recorders can be easily mounted and operatedas compared with those disposed on open reels, and find an extensive useamong the blind. As is well recognized, during a record or playbackoperation, the magnetic tape in a tape cassette is run in one directionuntil the tape end is reached, whereupon the cassette must be removedfrom the tape recorder to invert it before it is loaded again to be runin the opposite direction. The front and rear sides of a tape cassetteis usually designated by indicia such as A, B (see FIGS. 1 and 2) or 1,2, which are printed on a label applied to both the front and rear sidesof the cassette.

However, these indicia cannot be recognized by the blind. To overcomethis difficulty, there has been a proposal to emboss either one of theindicia applied to the label in order to permit a distinction of thefront from the rear surface. However, with a tape cassette of aminiature size, the indicia themselves will be reduced in size and aneasily recognizable indicium cannot be formed. In addition, with a tapecassette of a miniature size, various openings such as openings forfitting the drive shafts of hubs of tape reels, a capstan aperture andpositioning pin apertures of the cassette are dispersed throughout theboth surfaces, so that it becomes difficult to make a positivedistinction between such openings or apertures and the embossed indicia.

In addition, the playing time or the tape running speed depends on thetape contained in a cassette, and an indication of the kind of the tapeis usually given on the label applied to the cassette. Thus, providing adistinction between the front and rear sides of the cassette by tactileresponse alone is not sufficient for blind use. Therefore, it isapparent that there has been a need for a tape cassette which is adaptedfor blind use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of the invention to provide a tape cassette havingan indication for blind use which overcomes the above difficulties byproviding a recess capable of indicating the front or rear surface ofthe cassette by a tactile impression, at a location free from otheropenings or projections formed in the cassette, namely, in theperipheral edge of the cassette, and also providing indicium rearsurface of the recess in the form of either recess or projection or alabel applied so that a person having the usual sight can teach a blindperson what is indicated by the recess, thus enabling the blind todetermine the front or rear side of the cassette by tactile impressionof the recess.

It is a second object of the invention to provide a tape cassette havingan indication for blind use of the type described which additionallyincludes a recess or projection indicative of the kind of the tapecontained, namely, the playing time or the tape running speed, along theinner periphery of a window formed in a label applied to the centralregion of the cassette surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape cassette of a miniature sizewhich is provided with a recess along the peripheral edge of either thefront or rear surface in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the cassette shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary enlarged cross sections taken along thelines X--X' and Y--Y' shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a conventional tape cassette of miniature size;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, illustrating the handling of the tapecassette shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a tape cassette in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention in which a recess or projection is formedalong the inner periphery of a window formed in a label;

FIGS. 9(1) to (6) are cross sections, illustrating various forms of therecess or projection provided in or on the inner periphery of a windowformed in a label; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of another form of projections provided on theinner periphery of the window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, there is shown a first embodiment of theinvention as applied to a tape cassette of the miniature size which hasbeen developed by the present applicant. Referring to FIG. 1, there isshown a cassette 1 which is formed of a transparent material in asymmetrical configuration with respect to the centerline thereof.Specifically, it comprises a pair of a front and a rear cassette member2, 3 disposed in abutting relationship, these members being referred toherein as cassette halves. The edge or boundary between the front majorsurface 2a and the rear sidewall 2b is arcuately curved, and is partlyformed with a recess 8 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which provides anindication for blind use.

Referring to FIG. 4 which shows a cross section taken along the lineX--X' of FIG. 2, the construction of the recess 8 is shown in detail. Onthe inner surface 9a of the cassette wall in which the recess 8 isformed, there is provided an indicium A indicative of the front majorsurface which may be either embossed, relieved or formed by a label. Theindicium A is visible from the exterior through the transparent frontmember 2.

At a position symmetrical to the recess 8 with respect to the partingline between the cassette halves, the rear member 3 is provided with anindicium B indicative of the rear surface, the indicium B being providedon the inner surface of the rear member 3. Again the indicium B extendsalong the curved region between rear major surface 3a and the rear sidesurface 3b, and is visible from the exterior through the rear member 3.

In use, it is readily possible for the blind to recognize the frontsurface by sensing, through tactile response, the presence of the recess8 and to recognize the rear major surface as a result of the absence ofthe recess. It will be understood that the recess may be provided in therear member, and that the indicia A, B may be replaced by numerals 1, 2.In addition, it is also possible to provide a plurality of recesses,which may have either similar or different configurations, so that thecombination of the recesses permits a determination as to the kind ofthe tape contained in the cassette. However, if such plurality ofrecesses are formed around the periphery of the both front and rearsurfaces of the cassette, their provision in a limited space may lead toa mistaken reading without a certain degree of skill on the part of theblind. Therefore, it is preferred that a single recess be provided alongthe periphery of either front or rear surface of the cassette tofacilitate the determination of the front or rear surface, and that arecess or projection be separately provided at a different location inorder to indicate the kind of the tape contained in the cassette.

A preferred location for the provision of the recess or projection whichindicates the type of the tape is in the window formed in the centralregion of the cassette. A cassette is already known which is providedwith an indication of the front and the rear surface of the cassette byproviding either recess or projection in such region. This isillustrated in FIG. 6 wherein a tape cassette 11 of a miniature size isshown as being provided with various openings or apertures including apair of openings 13a, 13b in which the drive shaft of tape hubs 12a, 12bis fitted, a capstan aperture 14, and a plurality of positioning pinapertures 15a, 15b, 15c for the cassette 11. These openings andapertures are distributed throughout a limited area on both the frontand rear surfaces thereof. It is readily apparent therefore that anindicium cannot be provided in such region without causing a mistakenreading. Usually such a tape cassette is received in a vertical positionin its receiving case. Thus, when removing it from the case, it will beheld between the thumb 16 and the index finger 17 of the hand, holdingboth major surfaces of the cassette 11 as shown in FIG. 7. At this time,the flanks of the thumb and the index finger will be applied against thecenter area of the both surfaces of the cassette 11. As is well known,the opposite cassette surfaces are centrally provided with transparentwindows 18 (see FIG. 6) at a position intermediate the pair of hubs 12a,12b on which the magnetic tape is disposed. The purpose of suchtransparent window is to allow an observation from the exterior of howmuch of the tape is received or taken up on either hub 12a, 12b. To thisend, a scale 19 is provided in or adjacent to the windows 18 forindicating the amount of the rest of the tape which is going to be takenup. Thus it will be seen that when handling the tape cassette 11, thearea of the window 18 will be engaged by the flanks of both fingers. Thelocations on the both surfaces of the cassette 11 which can be easilyrecognized by tactile impression are the openings 13a, 13b in which thepair of reel hubs 12a, 12b are fitted, so that the area of the window 18can be easily located since it is situated intermediate the two openings13a, 13b. On the basis of this recognition, a recess or projection 18ais provided in the area of such transparent window for indicating eitherfront or rear surface of the cassette 11.

In accordance with the invention, a label is applied to both surfaces ofthe tape cassette, and a window is formed in the label in alignment withthe window which is originally provided to permit an observation of thetape running. The inner periphery of the window in the label is providedwith a recess or a projection so that its configuration or combination(where a plurality of recesses or projections are provided) permits arecognition of the kind of the tape, namely, the playing time or thetape running speed, through tactile sensing.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, there is shown an enlarged plan viewof the front surface (surface A) of a tape cassette of a miniature sizeto which the invention is applied. A label 20 is applied to the frontsurface. A window 20A is centrally formed in the label 20 in conformityto a transparent window 18 which is originally provided in the cassetteintermediate the both hubs 12a, 12b for the purpose of observation ofthe tape running. The inner periphery of the window 20A is formed with apair of triangular notches 20a, 20b in its lower side, the presence ofthese notches indicating that the internally housed tape has a playingtime of thirty minutes. A recess 21 is formed along the periphery of thecassette for indicating the front or rear surface of the tape cassette11.

It will be appreciated that the indication illustrated above in the formof a pair of triangular recesses may be in any other form such asprojections, and a combination of such recesses or notches orprojections may be utilized in a manner corresponding to a variety ofplaying times. Referring to FIGS. 9(1) to (6), the inner periphery ofthe window in the label may be formed with a relatively large recess (1)to indicate a playing time of 15 minutes, formed with a pair oftriangular notches (2) to indicate a playing time of 30 minutes, orformed with a single triangular notch (3) to indicate a playing time of45 minutes, without any recess or notch (4) to indicate a playing timeof 60 minutes, formed with a single triangular projection (5) toindicate a playing time of 90 minutes, or formed with a pair oftriangular projections (6) to indicate a playing time of 120 minutes.While the above deals with only the playing time, a desired tape runningspeed may be indicated by an arrangement as shown in FIG. 10. In thisinstance, an indication in the form of a recess or projection may beprovided in the upper side of the inner periphery of the window formedin the label. FIG. 10 shows a single triangular projection 20c formed inthe upper side together with a single projection on the lower side,indicating that the tape is to be run at a lower speed and has a playingtime of 90 minutes.

While in the embodiment described above, an indication has been providedin or on the periphery of the cassette for indicating the front or rearsurface of the cassette, it will be understood that all of the recessesor projections mentioned above may be concentrated in or on the innerperiphery of the window formed in the label. Since the label used forthe purpose of the invention is usually provided on common tapecassettes, any significant increase in the cost can be effectivelyavoided. In addition, while the invention has been described as appliedto a tape cassette of a miniature size, it is equally applicable toother types of tape cassettes such as those of a compact size.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tape cassette having at least one fingerreadable marking, comprising:a tape cassette having at least one majorsurface; a transparent window formed in said at least one major surface,said transparent window being located at a position relative to theposition of a magnetic recording tape housed in said cassette which willpermit viewing of the movement of at least a portion of said tape insaid cassette; a label applied to said at least one major surface ofsaid cassette, said label having an opening therein, said opening beingdefined by inner peripheral edges of said label and overlapping saidtransparent window a sufficient amount to permit viewing of the movementof at least a portion of said tape, said label also including at leastone finger readable tape-identifying indicia formed along and defined bysaid inner peripheral edges of said label, the shape and number of saidat least one finger readable indicia being indicative of some quality ofsaid tape such as the total playing time or running speed thereof.
 2. Atape cassette according to claim 1, wherein said at least one fingerreadable indicia comprises a projection formed along said innerperipheral edges of and defined in the plane of said label.
 3. A tapecassette according to claim 2, wherein a single projection formed alongsaid inner peripheral edges of said label indicates a playing time of 90minutes.
 4. A tape cassette according to claim 2, wherein twoprojections formed along said inner peripheral edges of said labelindicate a playing time of 120 minutes.
 5. A tape cassette according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one finger readable indicia comprises anindentation formed along said inner peripheral edges of and defined inthe plane of said label.
 6. A tape cassette according to claim 5,wherein a single, relatively large recess formed along said innerperipheral edges of said label indicates a playing time of 15 minutes.7. A tape cassette according to claim 5, wherein a single triangularnotch formed along said inner peripheral edges of said label indicates aplaying time of 45 minutes.
 8. A tape cassette according to claim 5,wherein a pair of triangular notches formed along said inner peripheraledges of said label indicates a playing time of 30 minutes.
 9. A tapecassette according to claim 2, wherein the presence or absence of asecond projection formed along an opposing edge of said inner peripheraledges from a first projection is indicative of the running speed of saidtape.